What the world doesn't need: another set of jargon phrases to use in diagramming the life out of Shakespeare's plays. Gibson (Two for the Seesaw, The Miracle Worker) fashioned his particular vocabulary for a graduate seminar in play-wrighting, and perhaps in that context there was some educational benefit in describing Shakespearean scenes and overall dramatic structure in terms of "levels," "moves," "submoves," "objects," "barriers," "master premises," "surrogates," "third-act pivots," or "plunges" (the last two really just new tags for what every high-schooler learns as "climax" and "denouement"). For the general reader, however, as Gibson dips in and out of Hamlet, Lear, Othello, The Tempest, and many others, the effect is unoriginal at best—parallels between Lear and Gloucester, what keeps Hamlet from killing Claudius, etc.—and often infuriatingly cloddish, as with Midsummer's Night Dream: "The ass is 'translated' from the third level, where the move is the artisans' and its object is on the first. . . . On the fourth level, Oberon is the move and Titania the object." Only one sequence, in which Gibson uses his system in a comparison of the 1603 and 1604 version of Hamlet, offers anything remotely fresh and illuminating to scholar or playgoer. For the rest, we'll have to applaud playwright Gibson's assurance that this is his "first and last book as a critic.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1978
ISBN: 0689705735
Page Count: -
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1978
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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